The present invention concerns a multipurpose advertisement device, especially an advertisement device having a relatively large information carrying surface, and a mobile element for the purpose of attracting attention to the advertisement device, and therewith to the advertisement on the information carrying surface. The mobile element is kept in motion through magnets, with a magnetic first connection element contained in the mobile element, and a magnetic second connection means attached to a drive mechanism contained within the device, with magnetic attraction between the first and second connection mean.
Advertisement devices attracting the attention of consumers have continually grown in importance with the steady growth of products and services available. Certain types of advertisement devices have an information carrying or conveying surface. Typical examples are posters, billboards and similar items. Other types of advertisement devices are common everyday objects, like pens and key-holders, which attract the attention of consumers when in use. Known examples of these advertisement devices are disclosed in the Hungarian patent specifications HU 209.348 or HU 202.329.
Some of the advertisement devices are exhibited at publicly accessible locations, but many others appear in the workplace, shops, warehouses, or even at home. A common drawback of most devices is that they serve merely to display a static structure or assembly, together with the information they intend to convey to the public. Because of their static structure, they do not attract enough attention, quickly lose their novelty, and fade into their surroundings. These devices do not distribute the information efficiently. Hence, their advertising potential is not reached. To overcome this disadvantage, it has been proposed to use different sorts of moving means to combine the distributed information with motion. Moving images and objects are much more likely to attract the attention of otherwise inattentive people, so these devices are more efficient as advertisement means. Such point-of-sale advertising devices with moving objects sometimes serve to attract attention only, without having an information conveying surface. Examples of advertisement devices incorporating such moving means are known from, among others, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,486 (Belokin et al.) patent specification. Another moving advertising display device using magnets is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,190 (Leo) patent specification. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,642 (Chatten) teaches a drive mechanism for an advertising display or the like. The drive mechanism incorporates a quartz movement lo mechanism with a magnet attached to the stem of the clock movement. A counterpart magnet is attached to a rotatable display structure. The magnets are situated sufficiently close to one another so that rotation of the stem is transferred to the display structure. The rotatable structures disclosed by Chatten work only with a vertical axis of rotation, so the plane of rotation is horizontal. These structures are not applicable where traditional vertical advertising surfaces, as e. g. posters or billboards are used. Further, the rotating structures of Chatten are rotating in a totally predictable manner, and thereby quickly lose their novelty. From the U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,117 (Yonezawa), a magnetic force guided travelling toy, i.e. a magnetic car is known. The car is equipped with a magnet, which serves to keep the car on a predetermined path having magnetic material embedded in it. This document does not teach how to use the car as an advertising object. Also, the car is unable to follow a random route, because the embedded magnetic path determines the route that the magnetic car should follow. Further, this known solution does not indicate or teach the use of a strongly tilted or vertical surface for the magnetic car. Therefore, this solution can not be used in combination with traditional vertical advertising surfaces either.
While the known moving display devices show improved ability to attract consumer attention, they require relatively bulky housing for the driving mechanism. As a result, the very effect of the movement itself will not appear surprising, because the observers can relatively easily identify or imagine the driving mechanism which causes the movement. Hence, these known moving advertisement devices will quickly lose the attention which they managed to generate in the observers. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to create a multipurpose advertisement device, which overcomes the drawbacks of the known advertisement devices comprising a moving part or element, and which provides a moving element capable of moving in a random manner on a vertical or strongly tilted advertising surface. Specifically, it is an object of the invention to create an advertisement device that has a moving object to attract the interest of the public, and where the movement of the moving object is experienced as very unusual and surprising by the observing persons. Also, it is an object of the invention to provide an advertisement device that is easy to manufacture, provides ample advertisement surface, and that may be used in a variety of environments.
The present invention provides a multipurpose advertisement device, with a carrier frame comprising one or more border parts, the border parts having an information carrying outer surface, with a mobile primary information carrying means for the displaying of characters and/or figures and/or other symbols for attracting attention, said primary information carrying means movably positioned on at least a part of the information carrying outer surface of the border parts, wherein the primary information carrying means is provided with first connecting means, and further the carrier frame is comprising an inner volume, said inner volume encompassing moving means, power connector means for connecting the moving means to a power source, said moving means comprising one or more transfer means, the transfer means comprising at least one flat disc and at least one second connecting means, with a sufficient attracting magnetic force between the said first and second connecting means to keep the primary information carrying means attached to the surface of the information carrying outer surface of the carrier frame in a stable manner. According to the invention, the transfer means further comprises at least one, flat part being relatively displaceable to the flat disc, and each of the flat parts comprising one or more second connecting means, where the movement of the flat part is determined by the frictional forces acting on the flat part. By the expression xe2x80x9cin a stable mannerxe2x80x9d it is indicated that the magnetic force itself is enough to hold the primary information carrying means against the outer surface of the border part, and no other means are needed to secure to the border part the primary information carrying means and to prevent it from falling down, in any position of the border part. With other words, the primary information carrying means is kept in place only by the attracting magnetic force acting between the first connecting means and the second connecting means and by the reaction and/or frictional forces resulting from the magnetic force. As a result, the primary information carrying means is always resting against the secondary information carrying outer surface, and by moving the second connection means around behind the secondary information conveying surface, the primary information carrying means will follow this movement, attracting attention to itself and the secondary information carrying outer surface.
In a preferred embodiment, the information carrying surface with the primary information carrying means is inclined to the horizontal with an angle of 0-120 degrees. This will add to the surprising effect caused by the movement of the primary information carrying means. Advantageously, the carrier frame of the multipurpose advertisement device comprises two border parts, the ratio of the distance between the outer side of the border parts measured in cm to the total outer surface of the border parts measured in cm2 is not greater than 1:2000. In an especially preferred embodiment, the carrier frame is provided with one or more frame elements connected to the border parts, and at least one frame element is provided with a hidden compartment communicating with the inner volume, and the power source and/or power connector means and/or an electric motor of the moving means is positioned in the hidden compartment. In effect, such a flat construction with no apparent inner mechanism have proved to be highly puzzling to the observers, and improved the overall appearance of the multipurpose advertisement device. The surprising impression is improved, if at least part of the border parts are mirror plates. With the mirror plates it is even more clear that there is no visible connection between the primary information carrying means and the carrier frame.
Advantageously, the primary information carrying means is supported by at least three support means, preferably wheels, and/or gliding elements, and the primary information carrying means is rolling and/or gliding on the information carrying outer surface of the carrier frame on said support means. In a certain embodiment, it is preferred that the support means of the primary information carrying means are comprising at least one support means having a supporting surface with increased frictional coefficient and at least one support means having a supporting surface with a reduced frictional coefficient. It is also preferred that the second connection means is attached in a radial direction to the transfer means and/or to the flat part. This combination improves the driving properties of the toy car acting as the primary information carrying means. It must be stressed, however, that the invention is not limited to toy cars or similar vehicles as primary information carrying means, but a multitude of other embodiments may be used. As an alternative to the toy car, the advertised product itself or a characteristic part thereof, or any suitable object may be used for moving around on the information carrying surface of the border part.
In another preferred embodiment, the transfer means comprises at least one flat disc, the flat disc being connected through mechanical drive unit, preferably belt drive, friction drive, cogwheel drive or combination of these to the electric motor of the moving means. This allows a practical flat construction. Advantageously, the transfer means is provided with two or more second connecting means, and at least two of the second connecting means is connected to the transfer means in a manner permitting their displacement relative to each other. It is also suggested that the power connecting means are provided with means for randomly or periodically changing the direction and/or speed of the rotation of the electric motor. Thereby random movement of several primary information carrying means is possible. The random movement is further enhanced if the second flat part is pressed towards the flat disc by the magnetic attraction force acting between the first and second connection means, and the movement of the second flat part is determined by the frictional forces arising from the pressing towards the flat disc.
In a further preferred embodiment, the multipurpose advertisement device of the invention comprises at least two hanger means made of electrically conducting material, the hanger means being connected to the connecting wires placed in the inner volume of the carrier frame and/or the hidden compartment of the frame element. Thereby the power source need not be hidden in the device itself, and the construction may be even more flat.
Specifically, to reduce the friction arising between the flat disc and the border part. it is suggested that there is provided a mesh liner between the inner surface of the border part and the transfer means and/or the flat part, the mesh liner preferably containing lubricating material. The invention also relates to an improved multipurpose advertisement device, with a similar structure to the above described device, wherein the primary information carrying means is provided support means, preferably wheels and/or gliding elements. According to the invention, the support means of the primary information carrying means comprises at least one supporting surface with increased frictional coefficient and at least one supporting surface with a reduced frictional coefficient.